M is for Millennial; M is for ME What is so great about being a millennial? Is it the pleasure of living at home until one’s parents kick one out? Is it that one’s mom is still willing to do one’s laundry? Or is it because one does not have to have a job due to being covered under one’s parent’s health insurance until the age of 26? Many Americans tend to think millennials will not be better off than their parents’ generation, causing a backward momentum for the first time in United States’ history, and I agree with this statement because I have seen firsthand how my generation has selfishly taken its privilege and education, throwing them away when times become tough. Although millennials do stand a chance in improving today’s society, there …show more content…
Abby Ellin, author of “The Beat (Up) Generation” explains that due to hovering parents, millennials have delayed development. Hovering parents, also known as “Helicopter Parents” give out completion prizes and awards for just being there (Ellin 61). For example, when I was a child, I remember playing little league basketball for Union Public Schools. When our season was over, we would all meet somewhere to eat and get handed participation trophies for our hard work. This is why coddling is affecting how millennials act due to every little award and gift being handed to them. Millennials will soon become unprepared and not have a purpose because parents are handing everything to them. Similarly, in “Preparing Students for the New Reality,” millennials feel entitled due to “Helicopter parents” and “over parenting” (Miller and Slocombe). Donald S. Miller and Thomas E. Slocombe quote psychologist Jean Twenge. She says “…. Young people have been consistently taught to put their own needs first and focus on feeling good about themselves” (Miller and Slocombe). Twenge is surely right about the selfishness millennials have brought into the world. As I said earlier, I have witnessed millennials acting this way when times have not gone the way they expected. Even in my own life I have been coddled to where I buy unnecessary things to make myself feel better due to my …show more content…
As stated in “Hunting for Hope in Modern America,” “college is a good thing” (Bosworth 334). I believe that college is a place for higher level learning. When going to college, students must be prepared to study and work hard. Students must attend classes just like if college was a job. Bosworth goes on to state “[colleges] can teach you, but you have to be willing to put the work into learning” (Bosworth 334). Millennials must strive for success and achieve more than the ones before them in order to improve society. Unfortunately, this is not the reality of most millennials. Even the majority of students currently attending TCC will most likely never finish with a bachelor’s degree. Whether this being a problem financially or pure laziness, millennials are unprepared for what is ahead of them. Transitioning from a high school student to a freshman in college may affect millennials because of the coddling and leniency from parents. For instance, when students come home failing classes or dropping out of college, parents are very forgiving and supportive. Thus, saying to millennials that quitting is not a big deal. Therefore, this small minority of hard working millennials are not moving society forward. If they cannot complete school, how are millennials going to improve the next
It is very hard to tell from the article whether or not Matchar truly believes what is written in support of millennials. Perhaps it is a parody of the earlier generations to say “Be selfish, Gen Y! Be entitled!” (235), but she seems to contradict her earlier statements. The constant repetition that millennials are lazy, unwilling to work, etc paints a bleak picture of their futures for the whole world. Millennials are often portrayed as spoiled rich people who still rely heavily on their parents for everything. This makes them seem childish, and Matchar’s questionable usage of these terms nonetheless is an obvious jab at the poster minority. Millennials overall are hard working and put under more stress than their predecessors, and the ridicule they endure for their work is uncalled for. Therefore, the thesis’s major flaw almost entirely overshadows its main
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
The 21st century has brought great change and advancement in all aspect of life for mankind across the world. From the creation of high-tech gadgets to innovative ways of basic living, millennials have had a huge engagement in the works of creating such things. They have brought change and advancement through ways in which mankind has never seen before. On the contrary, past generations believe that Millennials are bringing negativity and corruption into the world. The article "The Beat-Up Generation" by Abby Ellin says that " Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them. Called the "Trophy Generation," notorious for receiving prizes simply for showing up,
Not So Much”, explains how Generation Y is not necessarily lazy, but rather conforming to fit changing times and a changing system. Her degree in journalism from Princeton, and experience in writing about economics, politics and data-driven journalism, more than qualifies her for writing about such a topic. I was one of those people who believed that today’s generation is too dependent on their parents, always looking for a hand-out and have a sense of entitlement. After reading this, I now have a slightly different opinion about Millennials. Of course, there will always be slackers in every generation whether past, present or future, but there is always more than what meets the eye. Just because someone may not spend their forty-hour work week all in the office, does not mean that they are working any less, but that because of today’s technology they can work from almost anywhere. As for the amount of graduated college students that return to live at home with their parents, it is not necessarily because they are too apathetic to go out and support themselves, but rather the reason being the high unemployment rate among sixteen to twenty-four year olds. After the Great Recession in 2009, many Millennials either lost their jobs, or were simply unable to find one after graduation. While I was raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked for it, I truly hope that today’s generation is still
If you compare Millennials with previous generations you will discover that we do not know what war on our own soil feels like as the Silent Generation (1923-1940s) has or how post-war optimism inspired the Baby Boomers (1946-1964.) Even Generation X (1965-1980) grew up with encouraging parents who influenced them to work hard because that was the only way to reach their goals. As most of the Millennials are the children of Baby Boomers, we grew up with the mindset “you can be anything you want to be.” Now as young adults we still grip tight to this mindse...
Millennials are accused of being tough to manage, behaving entitled, unfocused, lazy, narcissistic; however, they seek to have a purpose that they love and make an impact. Yet, the more they receive, they are not happy. Sinek jokingly states that they could be offered “free food and bean bags, because that is what they want, and they will still not be happy.” According to Sinek, there is a missing piece for millennials, furthermore, he goes on to say there are four characteristics that make millennials the way they are, “parenting, technology, impatience, and environment.” (2016).
Many of the Millennial Generation feel entitlement as if the are owed something or they have a birthright when in actuality they have to work for it. Millennials have been superficially fed by placebos of success, when kids are small and they fail, parents still reward and praise them. Parents go as far as to say, “you should have won” or “they cheated” when there is a possibility they should have won but there is an even bigger possibility that they should not have. Instead of teaching that you do not always win in life, they try to alleviate any pain or disheartenment they may face, but in life there are no placebos. This is why Millennials feel they are entitled, because their parents have made them feel righteous at early ages. They do not believe in starting at the bottom of the totem pole, rather they want to start at the end of the finish line and not have to run in the race. They want money but do not want to work for it. Studies show that Millennials rather be recognized and have social power over monetary gains. (Goldstein). “Here’s how to deal with Millennials” addresses how Millennials’ goals are to make friends first, be recognized for their successes, and not work as hard as their parents worked. This shows exactly how they are on the menu. They do not have a set value for money, it is more about social accolades versus steady income and retirement. The Pew Research Center produced a survey
First of all, many high school graduates cannot handle college. Isabel V. Sawhill and Stephanie Owen describe college as a place, “one can obtain a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree”. The work load outside of the classroom could be compared to working a full time job. For example, if a student is enrolled in four college courses and is in class a minimum of four hours the student should spend at least four to six hours of studying. This may be extremely agitating and stressful to a student that is not good at studying. The new college student may realize that the schoolwork is too much for him to handle and instead drop out. In Pharinet’s blog post, Is College for Everyone? He states that “…it is estimated that in the U.S., approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate. There exist students who are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges of college. There exist students who do not have the desire for college or learning.” This statement is important because if 50% of students that begin college never gradua...
I am 19 years old and I am part of the “millennial” generation. This generation has basically grown up with the Internet and social media, which completely changes the way we interact with people as well as how we study. Being a college student in this era is probably easier than when my parents were in college because of the technology that is readily available. There is a lot of conflict and bias between our grandparents’ generation and our generation because of the way our society has dramatically changed. The way I see it, the baby boomer generation worked harder and the millennial generation works smarter. They are both equally admirable ways of doing things, but it causes a disconnect between the
On average, the typical millennial needs constant feedback on everything they do, and want to share their entire lives on social media. They want everyone to see their accomplishments. This differs from some of the older generations that may value their privacy and do not want to have their entire lives placed on the Internet. According to the “Millennial General Research Review,” Millennials are considered more accepting of other races and cultures compared to the previous generations. The Millennial generation puts more emphasis on trying to be culturally and racially accepting towards everyone. In addition, they are able to multitask better then any of the other generations, changing from task to task at an extremely accelerated rate and receiving their current information from technology like the internet and television as compared to other forms that were previously popular (“Millennial General Research Review”). Overall, Millennials have many defining characteristics that have helped shape them to who they
In the article "Hunting for Hope in Modern America," Jeffrey Bosworth says "you're screwed" to provide a negative view on the world and presents that things are becoming easier to do, rather than Millennials having to truly work for what they are getting. In this article, Bosworth implies that Millennials' sense of entitlement is their own fault due to the fact that many make excuses and just barely do enough to get themselves by. Similarly, in the article "Preparing Students for the New Reality," Donald S. Miller and Thomas E. Slocombe explain the extent of entitlement of Millennials by referring to them as "Generation Me." They reveal that "...many students are unconcerned [and] feel their qualifications are above average." At the same time that Miller and Slocombe are presenting that Millennials are entitled due to their idealistic expectations, Bosworth is displaying his same belief by showing different reasoning in how Millennials are coming up with excuses, proving their
Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because for decades, “The American Dream” has included the belief that the future generation will fare better than the present one; however, millenials are not projected to fare better than the present generation X for many reasons.
“I think the younger generation, the people posed to dominate the workforce, are more socially conscious. They are more demanding in terms of environment and how that environment contributes to their life.” This quote by Helmut Jahn demonstrates the exact hope that we, as Americans, should have towards our future. The young generation is the future of America, and action needs to take place in order to better their future. Millennials are often perceived as inferior, knowledge-wise, to older generations. However, today’s Millennials are about to be the most educated generation ever. Though they’re mostly educated, they’re making a lot less than they should be. Because being well-educated means going to college, a lot of
The helicopter parents have created an illusion for the millennials that they have constant protection from all harm; some parents have babied their children and have now left them feeling entitled and important creating over-sensitive millennials. Not to mention, the damage the schools have caused by overprotecting their students who are currently millennials who act like children. Millennials have the freedom to behave the way they believe is right; moreover, if they are taught that being sensitive is right, that knowledge will influence the millennials behavior. Affecting the millennials, parents and schools have taught them to be over-sensitive, yet they rarely ever get the blame for causing these millennials
Individuals in my generation that decide to go away for college may graduate with a degree but they also graduate with debt and have a hard time finding work in their area of study. College graduates are young and many may not have much experience in their field. It is a bittersweet option to go to college and further your education, I am all for it, but I am not for getting yourself in tons of debt, that will cause you to live your whole life paying off student loans and such. Which is one of the reasons why I chose to stay at home and go to community college, I’m saving money while still getting a great education. In earlier generations, people may not have felt that college was important because they needed a job to support themselves and their families. That is understandable because in the early years becoming an adult meant turning of age, 18, getting a job, moving out and starting your own family, but now turning 18 doesn’t mean you automatically are an adult and can move out and start your own life, I have friends that went to college, have a job but still are not able to move out on their own even in their